Board takes steps to form police department Public meeting set for January

Thursday

Dec 20, 2012 at 11:30 AM

By Andy Barrand

andy.barrand@hillsdale.net QUINCY — The Quincy Village Council on Tuesday took the first step toward forming a new police department for the village.Because fewer county officers will be on the streets due to funding issues, the board began looking at its options after last month's meeting. The village is currently patroled by two part-time Branch County Sheriff’s Office officers. The village entered into a contract with the county in 2002 after disbanding the village police department. The village’s budget for police coverage in 2012-13 was $161,434, which went directly to the county. Scott Olney, one of the BCSO officer who currently serves in a part-time role with the village, said things were still up in the air with coverage for the county. “When you have your own police department you can tailor it to what you want,” he said. “I don’t want to see there not be an officer on duty here. My kids go to school here.” With that, the board began discussion on the issue and ultimately decided to go forward with planning. Trustee Mike Hagaman said he was personally ready to move on the issue after no representatives from the community showed up at the meeting to voice their opinions. Trustee Bill Price suggested the board should hold a public hearing on the matter at a later date. After a period of discussion, the board voted on the police chief’s job description and salary. The vote passed, allowing Village Manager Eric Zuzga to post the position. The position will be posted today and resumes will be accepted through 5 p.m. Dec. 27. Interviews will take place the week of Jan. 7 and the board will have a public hearing on the issue at its Jan. 15 regular meeting. Zuzga said if the board chooses to go ahead with funding the department after the meeting, he hopes to have a police chief in place by the end of January. “I already have three resumes and we haven’t posted the position,” he said. The police chief’s salary will be $45,000 annually plus benefits. Zuzga said at the high end benefits for the position would cost an additional $14,000 per year. Trustee Larry Sayler agreed with the move to pursue the formation of the department. “We are elected to do what’s best for the community,” he said. “I don’t think we want to be in the situation long where we have no (police) coverage.” The vision is for the chief position to be a working one with the officer in the community 80 to 90 percent of the time. Zuzga said he has talked with Branch County Sheriff-Elect John Pollack about purchasing the car that the part-time officers are currently using in Quincy. Olney said the car has 107,000 miles on it, has the needed equipment and is in relatively good shape. Zuzga said if the board passes funding for the department, it will begin talks of hiring a deputy after the first of the year. He said it might be something that is worked into the 2013-14 budget process, which begins in April.